What Matters Most
by RoswellianKitten
Summary: Max and Liz realize what matters most in their lives.
1. Default Chapter

A warm, afternoon breeze wafted through Liz Parker's bedroom window, stirring a few strands of hair that had escaped her long braid. She sat Indian-style on her bed, her arms wrapped around the stuffed bear that Max had given her on their first date. It was a cruel reminder of that sweet, innocent day when they were just two people enjoying each other. No aliens, FBI, or some crisis to deal with.  
  
That seemed like ages ago, not over a year. Had it been that long ago that she held him in her arms like a girlfriend should? She looked down into the glass eyes of her beloved, tear-soaked bear, guilt and grief warring within her. Guilt from the way she had deceived the only man she could ever love. even if it was for his own good. Grief that her plan had worked and she had shoved him into the arms of his destiny - his soon-to-be wife.  
  
Liz bit back a sob, fresh flood of tears springing to her eyes and trickling down her reddened cheeks. Today Max and Tess were to be married. a ceremony that should have been hers, and would have been if it wasn't for Future Max. But she couldn't blame it all on him. She had agreed to go along with the plan, knowing that in the end she'd be saving Michael and Isabel. Her life was insignificant compared to theirs. They had a destiny to fulfill, whereas Liz was just a high school student and a waitress at her parent's diner. Nothing too glamorous.  
  
She nearly jumped when the shrill of her bedside phone broke the quiet, brooding atmosphere of her room. She let it ring for a few minutes, before she reluctantly released her death grip on the bear and picked up the receiver.  
  
"Liz? Are you there?" A worried voice came over the line, bringing a small smile to Liz's swollen lips. Maria, always the worrier and best friend a person could have. She would battle the devil herself if it meant saving a friend, and she probably has done her share of dragon-slaying in the year and half of dealing with Aliens and the problems that went with it.  
  
"I don't know anymore."  
  
"Awwwww, Lizzie. I'll be over in a few minutes." Before she could protest, Maria had hung up on her. She knew arguing was futile; Maria always did what she thought best, even if no one around her agreed. Maybe she needed the distraction. Keep her mind off the event to happen in a few short hours. 


	2. Chapter 2

Fifteen minutes had passed before there was a knock at Liz's bedroom door. Maria barged in without waiting for someone to tell her to enter. She immediately sat down on Liz's bed and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulder.  
  
Liz sat stiffly in Maria's arms for a moment before caving and leaning in for the comfort that she offered, bursting into tears all over again. Her life was falling apart and there was nothing she could do to stop it or slow it down. She was going into a downward spiral into oblivion, and she didn't know if Maria was enough of an anchor to pull her back from the brink. "Forget that creep, Lizzie. If he could marry that girl, and I'm using the term lightly, then he doesn't deserve you. You've done everything for him, the past and the present, and if he can't see that, then. OOOH! He needs to be smacked into reality."  
  
Leave it to Maria to defend her friends. No matter that Max was once her friend as well. She couldn't think about Max without wanting to punch his lights out. Couldn't he see how much he hurt Liz by asking Tess to marry him? He was such a creep! He deserved to be found out by the Skins and the FBI.. Maria mentally stopped herself. No matter what he or Tess did, no one deserved the treatment at the hands of those evil people.  
  
"It isn't his fault. And that's what makes this worse. It's my entire fault. I got what I deserved!" A muffled wail came from the curve of Maria's neck, where Liz had buried her face to cry.  
  
"It isn't your fault, so don't blame yourself. I blame it all on Tess. Throwing herself at him at every turn, talking about 'destiny this, destiny that'. She knew what she was doing, and she probably brain-washed him into believing her every word." Maria swore vehemently, her hands rubbing up and down Liz's back in a comforting gesture. She wished the petite blonde was there in the room. She longed to rip every strand of perfect hair out of her scalp, one strand at a time. She never liked the girl from the start, and now she totally detested her.  
  
Liz mumbled something incoherent against Maria's skin, closing her eyes tightly at the mere mention of the word "destiny". She never told Maria of Future Max and what he told her. She also never told Maria about her supposed night with Kyle and what it did to Max. No one knew except for the three of them - Max, Kyle and Liz. And even they didn't know the whole story. Just what she told them or showed them. And because of that, she destroyed two lives, and gave hope to the third.  
  
Kyle had started to believe that he and Liz were developing a bond. He had hopes that they would eventually hook up, but that was out of the question. There would be no one but Max for her, and he was promised to another.  
  
Maria pulled away, looking deeply into her closest friend's weary, empty gaze. She tucked a strand of hair behind Liz's ear, her heart breaking at the sight of the suffering she was going through.  
  
"Let's go for a walk."  
  
Liz blinked at Maria, her muddled mind barely grasping the change of topic. "A walk? Why? Where?"  
  
"Of course a walk.... We'll go to the school and walk the track. It isn't occupied this time of day, and it'll be quiet. Your parents."  
  
Liz knew they were worried about her. She hadn't left her room since she heard the news from Alex. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, but he thought that she should know. He was avoiding her now, feeling guilty for being the one to cause her so much pain. It really wasn't his fault, but she couldn't tell him that. Just as she couldn't tell her parents why she was locked up in her room. They wouldn't understand.  
  
Finally Liz caved in and agreed to go to the school with Maria, needing a change of scenery. A week of looking at the same walls probably wasn't doing her much good, but it was something familiar. something safe that she had needed. Her own personal haven from the chaos in her life.  
  
She slid from the bed and Maria's arms and went to her bathroom to freshen up. She looked into the mirror, wondering who the stranger was gazing back at her. Her thick, shiny hair hung in dull strands; her features gaunt and pale. She had dark smudges under her eyes from the lack of sleep, and the small amounts of food she could force down her tear-clogged throat.  
  
She had turned into a zombie. Someone who survived day to day just by sheer will power. Nothing else had sustained her. She did things out of habit these days, for there was no more desire for anything except for the oblivion that she craved like a starving man would a last meal. She blinked herself out of her reverie and forced her gaze from the haunting image before her.  
  
She emerged from the bathroom a few short minutes later, and slipped on a light jacket. Although the weather was at a comfortable temperature, a coldness had seeped into her bones, leaving her shivering and numb. After taking one last look around her haven, she and Maria exited her room and headed on foot to the school that was a short distance away from her house. 


	3. Chapter 3

Max gazed into the full-length mirror, straightening out his tux jacket, his eyes flickering over to Michael who grumbled as he tried to figure out how to tie a bow-tie. With a frustrated tug, he sent the slight material flying across the room. A small smile tugged on Max's lips at his friend's impatient gesture. Typical of Michael.  
  
A knock sounded on his bedroom door a few minutes before it opened to reveal his sister, Isabel in her maid-of-honor garment. It was a dark, emerald green which look stunning against her tan skin and her dark, golden blonde hair. She had applied her make-up with an expert's touch, making it seem natural while highlighting her best features.  
  
"Are you two ready yet? Mom wants to take a few pictures before we head over to the church and make sure everything is set." Isabel arched a brow at the tie that lay at her feet before meeting Michael's dark look. "It appears you guys need a woman's help on dressing." She bent over and picked up the bow-tie and walked over to Michael. She proceeded to knot it about his neck without any problems.  
  
"I'm ready." Max said quietly from in front of the window, his mind a few blocks away and on a certain person - a person he no longer had the right to think about and care about. It was Tess that should be filling his mind and heart now and the rest of his life, not Liz and what might have been.  
  
He hadn't seen Liz in ages, not since she helped them against the last crisis with the Skins. He looked around school hoping to catch a glimpse of her, even knowing that it was wrong of him to think like that. She was the one that pushed him away, and he finally accepted the fact and found comfort in Tess's arms. more ways that one. He always thought that Liz would be his first and only, but things had changed out differently.  
  
He braced his hands on the window sill and rested his forehead against the cool glass. He had thought a lot of things, and look how things turned out? Liz had slept with Kyle, he had slept with Tess, and now he was to be married.  
  
A groan escaped his lips as an image flashed before his eyes. It was Liz and him in front of an Elvis impersonator, getting married in Vegas with all their friends gathered around them. Another image came soon after the first.. Their first dance as man and wife. What could it mean? Was it just wishful thinking of what might have been? Or was it another lifetime..?  
  
"Max?! Are you okay?" Isabel had rushed up to him when she heard him groan, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Michael had taken a step forward to help as well, but stopped to let Isabel take over.  
  
"Yeah. I just. I'll be at the church. I need to do something first." Without an explanation, he quickly left his room and the house, heading towards. what he didn't know. He just walked where his feet and heart were taking him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Twenty minutes later, he stopped in front of the high school, his eyes fixing at the two distant figures walking the track. Instinct told him who they were. the woman who broke his heart, and destroyed his life, and her best friend.  
  
He stood there awhile, letting them approach him. He had to collect his thoughts, figure out what he was going to say to her. How he would react to seeing her again, face-to-face? How would she take it knowing he was to be married soon? Did she already know about it? All these questions running through his mind and not one answer to any of them.  
  
He knew when she finally spotted a short distance away. Her whole body stiffened, but she continued walking - towards him and towards what he didn't know. Would they argue? Would she care? And why does he care what she felt or thought? He was marrying someone else. Someone who wasn't Liz and would never be. The kind of woman he needed to help him forget her and their brief happiness.  
  
She turned and said something to Maria, who nodded and stopped walking. Liz continued on, knowing Maria would wait for her, would give her support long after he left and she finally had closure. As soon as he was gone, she knew she would fall apart. She would give in to the urge to let go and give up on this pitiful existence.  
  
"Hi." Her voice broke; her throat raw from all the crying she had done on his behalf and her own. Of the small hope of a happy life that was shattered at her deceit.  
  
"Hi." Max couldn't believe what he was seeing, the stranger that stood before him that once had been the woman he cherished above even his own life. She was just an empty shell of the Liz he knew. Obviously she had heard about his upcoming wedding. and it was killing her. He didn't know whether he should be pleased that she still cared for him, or feel guilt or pity for being the cause.  
  
"I guess you heard the news." Liz closed her eyes briefly at his hesitant mentioning of the wedding. How was she to respond to that? Tell him congratulations and wish him well? Or beg him not to go through with it? She could do neither, as she fought more tears away. She refused to cry another tear over him and everything else. They wouldn't help now, and she didn't want his pity.  
  
"Yeah. Alex told me about it."  
  
"Liz. I - " She placed a trembling finger to his lips to still the words that he was about to say. It didn't matter what he was going to tell her, there were no more words needed to say to each other. He was sorry he hurt her this way, but she knew that wouldn't stop him from going through with it.  
  
"Please don't. I can't bear anymore tonight, Max. Tonight or any other night." Max pulled her hand away from him, nodding slightly at her words. There was no need for apologies. Nothing would change.  
  
"Tell me one thing, Liz. and I'll go away. Tell me the visions of you and I getting married never happened."  
  
Liz's eyes welled with the tears she could no longer force back. What could she say to that? Could she lie one more time and let him think it were all a dream? Or could she let him know just part of the truth and let him wonder what might have been? She decided for the truth, feeling she owed him that much. No more lies, they hurt too much.  
  
"In one lifetime, we did. And it was a grand wedding. We danced all night, long after everyone had tired out. I Shall Believe was the song we danced too." Liz had closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the visions that Future Max had given her. It was memories she treasured, even though they hadn't happened and never would. Max watched her face glow as she described it to him, his heart breaking all over again at the thought of that never happening. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her and brushing the tips of his fingers across her damp cheeks, breaking the spell she was under. Her eyes opened slowly to show the bleak look in her eyes, knowing how the story really went.  
  
"Max. It was all a ruse." She blurted out of nowhere, unable to let him walk away without knowing the truth, even though she knew it wouldn't help her situation at all. "That night. Kyle and I never slept together. It was all a setup to make you fall out of love with me."  
  
Max's eyes filled with pain at her words. He never expected the truth to be this harsh. She didn't have to go to such extremes - perhaps she did, he thought to himself. He knew that there was no other way for him to stop loving her, and even now, there was a part of him that still did. And always would, he knew.  
  
"Why?"  
  
She shrugged her drooped shoulders, her eyes not meeting his. "I'm not even sure if you'd believe me if I told you. Sometimes I don't even believe what happened."  
  
Max stared at her wordlessly, wondering what he was to do. He desperately wanted to know her reasons. He wanted to know why she would be so cruel. and if it would be enough for him to move on. There was only one way, but could he. Looking into her eyes, he knew he had to. He needed the closure.  
  
He leaned over before she could react and pull away, and laid his lips across hers in a familiar kiss. Just then visions bombarded his mind. Visions of him?! Wait, an older version, but still him. He saw the devastation that was to come, and he finally had to pull away when he doubled over from the despair that was rolling off of her - both past and present.  
  
"You. did it to save me? To save all of us?" He stared at her incredulously. He had thought it was a selfish desire to be rid of him, but it was more than that. She was sacrificing her happiness to save him. She gave up everything so that Michael and Isabel could have a future.  
  
"I had to. I knew how much they meant. to you, to all of us. I couldn't let them die, because I was selfish and wanted our future to come true." Liz looked at him earnestly, crossing her arms across her chest as if to protect herself from everything that had happened. The chill that had invaded her the day Alex told her about Max and Tess, spread further, invading her heart, mind and soul. She was numb, but cold at the same time.  
  
Max didn't know what to say. He felt ashamed for thinking the worst of her, even though he had reason to. What she had gone through was much worse than what he had to endure, and although he wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her like he would have in the past, it wasn't to be. Their lives had split so completely that there was no going back, even though he knew that no matter what, she would always have his heart, completely. She was his only true love and soul mate, but they appeared to be star-crossed lovers. He was going to go through with the marriage, because he had to. Because he couldn't let all of Liz's heartache and attempts go to waste, also because he could never be a part of Michael's and Isabel's demise.  
  
With a long look of regret for what might have been, he turned away from her and walked away. He walked towards his long awaited destiny, knowing the future of Antar, his people, and his friends are what mattered most. Not his happiness or the other lifetime with Liz. 


	5. Chapter 5

The wedding proceeded as planned. Tess looked spectacular in a simple, white gown of pure satin. Held up by thin, spaghetti straps, it hugged her curves enticingly; a perfect offset to Max's dark contrast. He stood beside her and vowed to take care of her no matter what, to promise to remain with her through good times and bad, to fulfill their destinies.  
  
If the affair was a somber one, no one commented on it. If most of their human friends were absent except for Kyle and Jim, everyone avoided mentioning their names. They tried to make the whole atmosphere light and happy, but knowing it failed miserably. Max looked down at the woman that would be his mate through everything, and he felt nothing. He left his whole heart back at the track, and he was empty of everything except duty. That was his only drive.  
  
A mile away, blank, glass eyes were the only witness to a destroyed woman's slip into darkness. The bear laid propped against the still form of the fair Juliet in her final slumber, waiting for her dear Romeo to meet her in death.  
  
One life moved forward, another extinguished. Such was the ways of two star- crossed lovers who were never meant to be. 


End file.
